To clarify the effects of acupuncture treatment on acute and chronic shoulder-hand syndrome, 20 minutes of manual acupuncture was applied to 14 patients with posthemiplegic shoulder-hand syndrome at the hemiplegic arm and hand (eight points of keiketsu) twice a week for 5 weeks.
Thermographic and laser doppler measurements showed the increases in skin temperature and blood flow of the affected hand. Although manual acupuncture produced long-lasting increases in skin temperature and blood flow of both hands, its effects were inhibited when 10-mg alpha-blocker phentolamine was injected beforehand. After 5 weeks of the acupuncture therapy, the increased skin temperature and blood flow of the affected hand were gradually reduced to normal levels.
Subjective and objective symptoms such as pain, local heating, and swelling showed positive improvement in 10 out of 14 patients after the 5 weeks of acupuncture therapy.
These results may suggest that the shulder-hand syndrome is produced by unknown sympathetic vasodilating mechanisms and that acupuncture plays a therapeutic role through the suppression of increased sympathetic tone.